The invention relates to a data carrier comprising a data carrier body bounded by a body surface and incorporating a module and a coil, which coil is separate from the module and has coil turns and at least two coil connecting contacts, the module comprising a plate-shaped carrier, which extends substantially parallel to said body surface and which is bounded by a first carrier main surface facing said body surface and by a second carrier main surface substantially parallel to the first carrier main surface, and at least one component, which component is incorporated in the data carrier body, is connected to the carrier, is raised with respect to the second carrier main surface, and is disposed in a component level zone which extends transversely to said body surface, and at least two module connecting contacts connected to the carrier and arranged in the area of the second carrier main surface, and the coil turns of the coil, at least in their area adjacent the component, being disposed in a winding level zone which is situated outside the component level zone and which extends transversely to said body surface, the coil connecting contacts together with the coil turns being disposed in the winding level zone, and each coil connecting contact being disposed opposite a module connecting contact in a direction transverse to the second carrier main surface and being connected to the last-mentioned connecting contact in an electrically conductive manner, and the module connecting contacts projecting beyond the level of the component and extending trough the component level zone up to the coil connecting contacts, which are disposed in the winding level zone, and the data carrier having a recess which terminates in said body surface and which accommodates the module.
The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing a data carrier, in which a data carrier body is manufactured, which data carrier body is bounded by a body surface and in which during the manufacture of the data carrier body a coil having coil turns and at least two coil connecting contacts is incorporated in the data carrier body, which coil turns, at least in their area adjacent a component after the method has been completed, are arranged in a winding level zone which is situated outside a component level zone of the component and extends transversely to said body surface, and the coil connecting contacts together with the coil turns are arranged in the winding level zone, and in which a module is incorporated in the data carrier body, which module comprises a plate-shaped carrier, which is bounded by a first carrier main surface and by a second carrier main surface substantially parallel to the first carrier main surface, and the component, which is connected to the carrier and is raised with respect to the second carrier main surface, and at least two module connecting contacts connected to the carrier and arranged in the area of the second carrier main surface, the first carrier main surface then facing said body surface and the second carrier main surface being remote from said body surface and the component then being disposed in its component level zone which extends transversely to said body surface, and each module connecting contact and each coil connecting contact then being disposed opposite one another in a direction transverse to the second carrier main surface and being connected in an electrically conductive manner, and in which for incorporation in the data carrier body a module is used whose module connecting contacts project beyond the level of the component of the module, and the module connecting contacts are passed through the component level zone up to the coil connecting contacts, which are disposed in the winding level zone, and are connected to the coil connecting contacts so as to form an electrically conductive connection, and in which a recess which terminates in said body surface is formed in the data carrier body.
Such a data carrier of the type defined in the first paragraph and constructed as a chip card, a method of the type defined in the second paragraph are known from, for example, the document EP 0 671 705 A2.
FIGS. 5 and 7 in the document EP 0 671 705 A2 each disclose a chip card whose data carrier body comprises a base layer, which carries the coil, and a plastic cover body which is connected to the base layer in an injection-molding process and in which the recess for accommodating the module is formed by taking appropriate steps during the injection-molding process for the formation of the plastic cover body. By said steps during the injection-molding process it is achieved that directly after the injection-molding operation, i.e. directly after the data carrier body with the recess has been obtained, the coil connecting contacts are freely accessible at least with a substantial part of their contact faces intended for electrical connection to the module connecting contacts and can consequently be connected to the module connecting contacts without any additional measures directly after the data carrier body has been obtained, if applicable, with the aid of electrically conductive connecting means to be introduced additionally. Chip cards whose data carrier bodies comprise a base layer and a plastic cover body have various drawbacks, for example, they tend to warp or bend, are comparatively intricate to manufacture and are not suitable for some uses, so that their field of use is limited.